Fabric take-off device for fullfashioned knitting machines and method of operating same



y 1, 1952 H. E. HAEHNEL 2,601,763

FABRIC TAKE-OFF DEVICE FOR FULL-FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME Filed April 26, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Herbert r13 Haeimd ly 1, 1 H HAEHNEL 2,601,768

FABRIC TAKE- DEV FOR FULL-FASH ED KNITTING AND METHOD OF OPERAT SAME MACHI Filed April 26, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR flerberi ricaeirnd July 1, 1952 H. E. HAEHNEL 2,601,768

FABRIC TAKE-OFF DEVICE FOR FULL-FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME Filed April 26, 1947 4 Sheets-Shet s INVENTOR Er: 4 flack/ml BY 1 2 ORNEY J y 1, 1952 H. E. HAEHNEL 2,601,768

FABRIC TAKE-OFF DEVICE FOR FULL-FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME 4v 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 26, 19

l ting machine.

Patented July 1, 1952 .FABRIC TAKEe-OFF DEVICE FOR FULli l- FASHIONED IKNITTING MACHINES AND "METHOD OF OPERATING SAME BHerbIertiErich Haehnel, West Reading, 1a., as-

:signor 01 'liextile Machine Works, Wyomissing, -Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application Aprit26, 1947, Serial No. 744,244 a The present invention relating 'tofull-fa'shioned knitting machines, -more particularly concerns new and improved apparatus rformingca .Lpart 10f the welt-turning and draw-off. mechanismsaof such machines and arnovel method .ofzoperating the same.

It has been found, in the .presentitypes" of welt turning mechanisms, that. the use Moi"; two; fabric tensioning or draw-off devices.promotesrsimplicity in design and operation 'of .saidiwelt .turning mechanism. :fIhese devices.LcQmpriseprdinarily an auxiliarydraw-off means for applying tension to the weltbars.duringknitting. ofthe welt, and. another, the s+ca1ledwmain idraw ofi means, used to tension thetweltwires during certain phases. in knitting :of L the welt land. for. tensioning thefabric after the. turning :of the avelt.

However, in employing two different jdrawroff means in the formation: of. ithe-rwelt, rdifliculties in operation have been encountered; particularly immediately :following the closing zofthe welt where bothdraw-offmeans apply :an excessive amount oftension to thefabric.

Heretofore, immediately" after .the lWGlt :has

been turned and beforeyarnxhas; beemla'idifona new course,- it has beenznecessarycto.stopzthe machine in order to prevent .the further application to the fabric of the" tension :up .towthenixsupplied by the auxiliary.'idraweoifwshaft, and sin order to release .the tension of :.the1 auxiliary draw-off means fromxthe 'weltzbars, theaauxiliary draw-off shaft was manually rturnedlzin a direction reverse to the rtdraw-off r movement f said shaft and latched :inhsaidposition .beiore again starting the machine. ?.In. releasingthe tension of the auxiliary draw-off means some of the draw-off straps were disconnected from the welt bars but othersremained'in engagement with their respective -welt bar's andfhadLtoLbe manually released before disengaging the welt bars from the fabric. -After -all the straps were released from the welt bars and the ma'chine again started, the auxiliary=draw ofi shafttwas manually rotated to position 'thestraps for the start of the next set-of stockings. The welt-bars.

werethen disengaged from the fabricand placed in position tos'tart'the nextwelt and the drawcit straps were-'attachedthereto.

'It-is accordingly an' object of the present invention to provide anovel-means fortandfrnethocl of hooking up andturning-twelts whichtwillt reduce certain ofthe manualtoperationsiandxthereby increase the output andiimprove: ;the.;qua'lity of the fabric produced: by a fulkfa'shionedt knib 18 Glaims. (GILES-96) .Axfurther objectofthe invention is to. provide means in an. automatic welttnrning mechanism for full-fashioned. knitting machineswhich will automatically 1 make certain, :when required-"the release :of the hooks :and :tension draw-01f idevices .'from' the welt bars.

Another objectofythe invention isrto providea means adapted to. release the. auxiliary tension "of a full-fashioned.:knitting1 machine and to 'hold said tension mechanism inactive .as; longras :desired.

"Still another object of r the invention :isgtoa'provi'de a novel-hook forsengaging. atwelt .bar .ofna

full-fashioned knitting machines-and which .is so constructed as to insure its quick-and.sureself disengagement from the--welt bar after thedrawoff tension on the strap for the --welt bari-has been released-and upon continuedknittingand drawing off of fabric.

;Still another "object-of the invention is to provide a full-fashioned knitting machine-witha -nov'elpower operated-means for releasably latching-an auxiliary draw-elf shaft.

With these and other objects in view,- which will become apparent -from the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiment 'of the invention showmand described-in the-accompanying drawings. 1 the --invention resi des in the novel elements; features of construction-land arrangement of parts in cooperativerelationship and the improved method; ofoperating the same; as hereinafter "more particularly pointed out in the claims.

: In the. drawings:

Figure Iis an end elevation of adult-fashioned knitting machine .within the invention" having both, auxiliary and. main draw off means parts being. shown. both in section and ".dot andf da'sh outline, and other parts being omitted for. pur- ,.poses,of illustration;

Fig.2 is. a fragmentary front elevationgbrolgen .inseveral places, of .certainparts shown injEig; 1;

.Fig. ,3. .is a. detailed .Viewtaken substantially Fig....4 ..is...a ...detailed,lview. taken; substantially .-Fig.,,5 .is a detailed .view' taken substantially ion theline, 5 .5: of: Fig.2,.100king,intheLdirec- .tion-Df the-arrows;

Fig.1 6 is t a .detailed view, .ipartlyi diagrammatic in character. of: certain. of ,lthelparts shown. in Fig 1,; but--With i-the parts ,in the,.pos;ition., im

mediately following ;the turning, rof fthehvelt;

Fig. 7,;is a detailedview; similar tomEig... t, but

with the parts in the position corresponding to the position of the parts shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but with the parts in different relative positions;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but with the parts in positions corresponding to those of the parts in Fig. 8

Fig. 10 is a detailed view, partially in section, of the hook member connecting the draw-off strap and welt bar as shown in Fig. 8 but enlarged relative thereto;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Figs. 6 and 8 but with certain of the parts in different positions relative thereto;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Figs. 7 and 9 but with the parts in a position corresponding to the position of the parts in Fig. 11; 1 V

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Figs. 6, 8 and 11 with certain of the parts in diiferent positions relative thereto;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Figs. '7, 9 and 12 but with the parts in a position corresponding to the position of the parts in Fig. 13; and

Figs. 15 and 16 are fragmentary detailed views showing the hook for one of the welt bars in successive positions assumed by it prior to the point in the cycle shown in Fig. 11.

In the drawings and description, only the means and method necessary to a complete understanding of the invention have been specifically set forth; further information as to the construction and operation of other related, usual and well known knitting machine elements, mechanisms, etc., may be found in one or more of the following publications:

1. Pamphlet entitled-Full-Fashioned Knitting Machines published and copyrighted by the Textile Machine Works, Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1920.

2. Three catalogs entitled-The Reading .Full-Fashioned Knitting Machine Parts Catalog-published and copyrighted by the Textile Machine Works, in 1929, 1935 and 1940, respectively.

' 3. Booklet entitledThe Reading High-Production Full-Fashioned Knitting Machinewhich forms a supplement tothe above noted 1940 Parts Catalog of the Textile Machine Works,

a publication of the Textile Machine Works, copyrighted in 1940.

4. Pamphlet entitled-Knitting Machine Lecturespublished by the Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, in 1935.

In the embodiment of the invention herein shown anddescribed, there is combined with and at a certain angular position thereof. The draw-01f mechanism, of which said auxiliary shaft and strap forms a part,'may be of a generally known form having a weight connected by a cable to a sheave or pulley for applying a torque to the auxiliary draw-off shaft in the direction to draw off fabric as knitted, there being as shown, however, no stop for the weight so that the cable is always under tension.

Also, the present illustrated knitting machine includes a power operated welt turner and a main draw-off means having straps to be attached to a welt wire or welt wires and preferably of the type having both a weighted cable and cam energized springs (not shown) for applying a torque to the main draw-off shaft in the draw-off direction, said auxiliary draw-01f means acting only until the welt has been partially formed and the main draw-off means then taking over the drawoff function by acting on welt wires in folds of the welts. Said latch means for the auxiliary draw-off shaft acts for a time to substantially prevent any tension in the straps between the welt bars and the auxiliary draw-oil shaft by holding the auxiliary shaft stationary in the position which it reached when turned in the non-draw-off direction. The main draw-off means, however, acts while fabric is knitted after the welts have been turned and the Welt bars ride along on, or are drawn along by, the fabric so that the auxiliary draw-off straps sag down against the fabric and the combined effect of the characteristics and motions of the parts causes all the hooks on the welt-bar straps to disengage themselves from the welt bars. The auxiliary shaft is then released and returned to position for the start of the next welt and latched in such position. The welt hooks may then be disengaged and the welt bars placed in position for the start of the next welt and the auxiliary draw-off straps again engaged to the welt bars, the straps applying only a slight tension on the welt bar as determined by the auxiliary shaft.

The auxiliary draw-off shaft may be manually turned in the non-draw-off direction when desired but it has been found advantageous to turn it in the reverse or non-draw-off direction automatically by cam action as well as to latch the shaft automatically, while further advantageous features of the auxiliary draw-off means are disclosed herein as regards the form of hook used between the welt bars and their straps.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is shown therein a portion of a multi-section fullfashioned knitting machine of the "Reading type comprising a frame-work including transverse frames 2|, front beam 22, back beam 23, center-bed 24 and front bed or table 25, a main camshaft 26, and a plurality of knitting sections, parts of three of which are shown in Fig. 2 in position to form a single section 30. Each knitting section 30 comprises knitting means including a row of knitting needles 3|, shown as of the spring beard type, a sinker-head 32 having sinkers 33 and dividers 34 therein for cooperating with the needles 3| in forming loops of yarn to be knitted. Two draw-off means, 35 and 36, are provided, as shown in Figs. 6, 8,11 and 13. Drawoff 35 is an auxiliary mechanism and has a drawoff shaft 31 with reels such as 38 thereon, one reel for each knitting section. Each reel 38 has a draw-off strap 39 shown as having one end connected to the reel, the other end of said strap having a hook 40 whereby the strap 39 may be connected to a welt bar 4| to exert a draw-off tension on a piece of fabric. To this end, welt bar 4| is provided with a loop member 42 fixed to one side or edge thereof with which hook 40 is adapted to be engaged, as shown in Figs. 6, 8 and 10. The opposite side or edge of bar 4| has a set of welt hooks 43 fixed thereto projecting toward the needle row 3| and engaged with the loops of the first course of a fabric in well known manner to draw-off the fabric as it is knitted.

The auxiliary draw-off means, including hook 40, is showngand willbefurth'er described, in connection with a particular hook-up and welt turning means which is not per se apart of the presentinvention.

The hook 4|! is soconstructed'that it will be reliably disengaged from the loop 42 as hereinafter set forth. For this purpose, the hook has its free end rounded as shown and its inner or engaging surface has a material straight length 4"! inclined upward when the hook is in a position to engage the loop member 42 on the welt bar 4|. As shown in Fig. 2, auxiliarydraw-off shaft 37 is provided with pulley 44 of the sheave type to which is connected one end of a cable 45, the other end of which isfixed to a weight 46, as diagrammatically shown in Figs. 6, "8, 11 and 13, to exert a torque on' shaft '31 in the drawoff direction. The auxiliary draw-off means-begins to act immediately upon the engagement of welt hooks 43 with loops ofthefirst course of the welt. In the arrangement shown, each welt bar 4| is adapted to slide on rails 50 on thefront bed 25, as shown in Figs. 1 andZ. The bar 4| is moved from a rest positionshown in Fig. 13 to a hook-up position and a weltclosing position, shown in Fig. 1. In the restposition shown in Fig. 13, the welt bar 4| is held against pins carried in links 52 and forming parts of a pusher to mesh with those of a rack member 55 so that the position of the member 55 controls the angular position of shaft 54 and the position of -pins 5| and determines the movement of the welt bar 4| toward the needle row. The rack member 55 is guided and supported in a housing56 shown as carried on needle presser shaft 51 and fixed to the front bed 25 of the machine, The housing is'further supported by a rod 58 connected to front beam 22. The lower end of rack 55 is pivotally connected to a link 60 which is pivotally connected in turn to one end of a lever 6|, the rear endofwhich is pivoted to a bracket :59 fixed to the back beam 23 of the machine.

The other end of. lever 6| carries a roller-type cam follower 62. Lever 6| isurged toward the cam shaft 28 by a tension spring 63 so that follower 52 follows, when in proper position, the

contour of any one of a group of three cams of which two, 64 and 55, are shown and withwhich it is adapted to cooperate to raise the rack 55 and thereby move'the' pins 5| and bar 4| from their rest positions toward the needle row. When the rack 55 and associated parts are in the rest position, the lever 6| is in its lowest position in which a bolt 68 fixed in lever 6| rests against the upper face of an arm 69 ofthe bracket 59. A means is provided fpr controlling the shifting of the roller 62 from an inactive position at one side of said group of camsintothe plane, of whichever cam of the'group it is desired should actuate the rack 55 and pins 5|. Said means is shown as including a rod Hl the lower end of which is pivotally connected to a lever'll adapted to be controlled by: the usual pattern chain mechanism. (not 'shown).:fto shift rollerfilyas desired. The mechanism for operating the welt bar and the controlmeans' therefore ismorefully shown .and described in 'Bitzer Patent No. 2,413,601, December 31, 1946.

Assuming follower 62 has been shifted at the proper point in the revolution of shaft 25 to cooperate with the cam 64, rack 55 isliftedl to turn levers '53 in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 to push pins 5| and welt bar 4| toward the needle row so that the welt hooks extend between the needles. The loops of a first course having been formed by the action of sinkers 33 and dividers 34 in pressing yarn between the stems of the needles, the needles are then brought down so that the loops catch under the beards of the needles and the loops are drawn down off the nibs of the sinkers onto the hooks 43.

The first 'courseof loops of a welt having been engaged by hooks 43, rack 55 is lowered'by cam '54 until pins 5| are in the stop or rest position 1 shown in Fig. 6, the lever 6| then being supported on arm 55. The bar 4| is, however, held. at this time near the needle; row by the engagement of hooks 43 with the fabric loops and, as knitting progresses, the welt fabric is drawn off by tension supplied to the welt bar through auxiliary drawoff shaft 31, reel 38, strap 39 and hook '45. After a certain amount of welt fabric has been knitted, the main draw-off means 36 goes into action to draw off the fabric. For this purpose, means 38 includes a draw-off shaft 12, a reel for each section such as 73 fixed on shaft 12 which is: turned at the desired time contrary to the draw-off direction to unwind straps 14 connected to reel 13, thereby running hooks 15 on straps 14, or permitting them to be drawn, toward the needle row and latched in a position (by means not shown) for engagement of the hooks 75 with a welt wire 15, in well known manner. The shaft 12 is rotated in the draw-off direction by a weight (not shown) attached by means of a rope or cable H to a pulley 19 secured to the shaft 12, or by an automatic spring tensioning device shown in the hereinbefore referred, to 1940 Parts Catalog and both shown and described in the patent to Bitzer, No. 2,295,512, September 8, 1942. The welt wire 16 is then placed by an operative on top of the welt fabric and into a groove 61 in each of the rails 55, in the desired position to be engaged by the hooks 15 on draw-off straps 14. v

In this position, the welt hooks 43 being above the level of groove 61 the tension of the fabric holds the welt wireagainst the upper horizontal edge of the groove.

To facilitate insertion of the welt wires 16 into the grooves 6'! for subsequent engagement by the hooks T5, rails 50 are provided with downwardly inclined slots 159 along their inner faces the edges of one of whichappear in Figs. 11 and 13.

Each slot 59 hasa slider or plunger If! therein which, as clearly shown inFig. 13, is provided with a groove II Each plunger H] is yieldably biased by a spring 2, shown in Figs. 1 and 6, to the position shown in Fig. 13 in which the groove III is in alinement with the groove 61 in the rail 5G. By pressing weltwires 76 down on the upper ends of plungers |||J, the plungers are readily forced down until their upper ends are,

level with the bottoms of grooves fii'so that the ends of the welt wires pass into the grooves. Thereupon, the plungers move back automatically to the position "shown in Figs. 6, 8, 11 and .13 leaving the welt wires 1'6 in position to be engagedlby hooksf|5 assoon as the hooks are free to yield to the draw-offtension'ofthe'mearis 36 and to draw the fabric forward as indicated in said figures and'as hereinafter set forth.

After a certain further amount of welt fabric has been knitted, the pattern means moves cam follower 62 into the plane of cam 65 to move the pins to engage the welt bar 4| and to move it to a position intermediate the rest position of the pins and the needle row. Means are provided, including a lever I8 pivoted on lever 6| and cooperating with the arm 69, to hold the welt bar 4| in said intermediate position until another operation of the pins 5|, said means being well known and not further described herein. As shaft 54 and levers 53 are moved by cam 65, the hooks I5 and straps 74 are released from the latching means whereby the hooks I5 are drawn into engagement with the welt wire I6 to apply a draw-off tension thereto. As the grooves 61 in the rails 58 are on a level below that of the welt hooks 43, the application of draw-off tension to the welt wire produces a fold in the welt fabric and pulls the loops on the hooks 43 toward the welt bar 4|, and against pusher elements 88 on the shanks of hooks 43 to position the loops for restoration to the needles when desired. Cam 65 having passed from beneath follower 62 but leaving the lever 6|, rack 55, pins 5| and Welt bar 4| held by lever I8 and arm 69 in its intermediate position knitting is continued until enough fabric has been formed to complete the welt. Thereupon the third cam (not shown) in the group containing earns 64 and 65, is thrown into action by the pattern means and lever II. Said third cam is of the same height as cam 64 and therefore moves pins 5| from their intermediate position to the same point as the pins were moved by cam 64 thereby moving the welt bar 4| toward the needle row until the hooks 43 project between the needles as at the time of hooking up.

With the welt hooks 43 in position to return the loops held thereon to the needles as the needles rise in the revolution during which said third cam operates, they pass through the sinker loops held against pusher elements 88 on hooks 43. thereby closing the welt. The position of the parts at this time is not shown but after the needles have passed through the loops of the first course, the pusher pins 5| are withdrawn to their rest position whereby if no action were taken to prevent it, the full tension of the shaft 31 would be exerted on welt bar 4| through strap 39 and hook 48 while main draw-off means 36 exerts its full tension on the fabric through straps I4, hooks l5 and welt wire I6, as shown in Fig. 6.

In order that knitting can be continued without interruption but without the combined tensioning effect of draw-off means 35 and. 36 on the fabric, means are provided to turn auxiliary draw-off shaft 31 in the non-draw-off or reverse direction to substantially release the tension of the auxiliary means 35 immediately after the welt loops held on the welt hooks 43 are returned to the needles. For the purpose of releasing the tension on the fabric, a disk '83 (shown in Figs. 2 and 4) having a notch 84 therein is fixed on shaft 3'! and a lever 85, Figs. 2,

vented. For retaining dog 86 normally free of notch '84 as shown in Figs. 4 and 'I', the dog is provided with an off-set lug 89 adapted to engage a fixed pin 98 when the dog 86 is in its lowest or inactive position, as shown in Fig. 4. For moving dog 86 to turn disk 83 and shaft 31, the upper end of a link 9| is pivoted to pin 31 from which point said link extends downwardly to a pivoted connection with the front end of a lever 92 pivoted to one of the frames 2| as shown at 93 in Fig. l. Lever 92 has an arm 94 extending upward therefrom and having a stop bolt 95 fixed in an offset at the upper end of arm 94. When dog 86 and lever 92 are at their lowest levels and bolt 95 contacts a portion of one of the frames 2|, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a spring 82 holds link 9| so that dog 86 presses on pin 98 and the dog is held in its inactive position with relation to disk 83. Lever 92 also is provided with a further arm 96 extending downwardly therefrom and having pivoted thereto at its lower end a roller type cam follower 91, for cooperation with a cam 8| but normally positioned out of the plane of said cam. Follower 91 is shiftable to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, along its pivot 98 parallel to the main camshaft 26 into active position or into the plane of cam 8| by a member 99 shown as fixed to a horizontal rod I88 controlled from the pattern mech anism of the machine (not shown). Shifting of the follower 91 into active position compresses a spring I81 between the follower and the arm 96, the spring acting to shift the follower to inactive position or out of the plane of the cam 8| when the member 99 is permitted to return to its position of Fig. 2 by the aforementioned pattern mechanism. As soon as the welt has been closed as shown in Fig. 6, cam 8| swings lever 92 upwardly to lift link 9| and dog 86 whereby the dog engages in notch 84 and the further movement of lever 92 in response to the rotation of cam 8| throws dog 86 and shaft 31 in the non-draw-oif direction and into the position shown in Figs. 8 and 9 and in which the tension in strap 39 is almost entirely relaxed. A latch I82 pivoted on a bolt |8| carried on the frame near the end of the machine at which sheave 44 is located is biased by a spring I (Fig. 3) to press against a disk I04 fixed to shaft 3'! as shown in Fig. 8. Also, said disk has a notch I83 shown in Fig. 6 and so placed that, in the positions of the parts shown in Figs. 8 and 9, latch I82 presses into said notch and, as the dog 86 and link 9| are returned to inactive position, Fig, 12, the latch I82 remains in engagement with an edge I88 of notch I83 thereby holding shaft 31 in the position shown in Figs. 8 .and 9 until it is desired to throw the latch out of engaging position. At the time latch I82 engages e'd-ge I88 of notch I83, the tension exerted on strap 39 by springs I86 with which such straps are ordinarily provided is also substantially relaxed thereby forming a loop in the strap as shown in Figs. 8 and 11 between the points of w the strap connected to ends of the springs I86 but there is still sufficient tension remaining in springs I86 in the position shown in Fig. 8 to holdthe strap slightly tensioned. Knitting then continues, the main draw-off means 36 acting on the fabric while the tension in strap 39 is so slightas to be negligible so far as the fabric is concerned. As additional courses are knitted and with the welt hooks 43 remaining in the fabric, the slight tension in the strap 39 is sufficient to carry the welt bar 4| along with .9. he fabric away from the needles and toward shaft tl. khittingcontinues the strap 39 is gradually slackened so that it bows downward and hook 4Q dgesrearward with relation to loop 42 of welt bar'dl frbmthe position shown in Fig. 8 to that shown in Fig. 15. Due to the vibratory action in: the fabric caused by'the usual needle movements toward and away from' the presser of the machine the hook 4L] shakes itself out of the loop"rrie'm-b'er 42 and-drops onto the fabl'iC as shown in Figs. 11 and 16. In the arrangement'shown, the disengaging action of eachfhook' 49 is reliable so that all such'hooks in a multi-section machine become disengaged at about the'same time. The latch I02 may then be released from the notch Hi3 and shaft 37 and pulley 44 allowed tpturn to run the weight 45 to'its lowest crrest positionas shown in Fig. 13 in which the torque on'jshaft 3'! again is held by latch1'02, At this time, the notch 84 in disk 83 has turned to the position shown in Fig. 14. Now, thehoolrs' E3 or each bar 4| may be disconnected from the fabric and the bar placed in restposition'againstpins and the hook to of each strap 39 'reeonnected to the bar 4|, as in Fig. 13, at 'any convenient time. The parts are so arranged and proportioned that when welt bar 41 stands in rest position and the hook 44) is attached to it by engagement with loop member 4.2 as in Fig. 13, there is sufficient tensicm in springs I66 to hold the short free length of strap 319 to hold hook securely in place,

Further, the parts are; so proportioned and their operations so timed that the latch I02, al-

thoughalways urgedagainst its c ooperating disk [.04 by, its spring. [0.5; does not interfere with the movements of shafttl in hooking up, drawing off the welt and turning the welt because the disk I04 does not make a complete revolution as the welt bar 4! is moved from its rest position, Fig. '13, to its rearmost position shown in Fig. 1. Therefore; it willbe seen that, except at the rest posi tion at the extreme limit of movement of the shaft 37 in the draw oif direction, the notch I03 willnot be engfa gedby latch I02 when shaft 31 turns in theusualdrawwff and reverse movements but will be engaged by said latch member so as to be held againstturning in the draw-off direction whengivn a further reverse movement bythedogfifi. T

The operation of an apparatus within the invention will be understoodby those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. For purposes of convenience and toemphasize the essential steps of the novel methoddisclosed herein, the operation will be further described as follows: M

Just before a set of welts is to be started on a machine of'the type shown in the drawings, both the pusher pins 5| and the welt bar M'Willf be in their, rest positions shown in Fig. 13."For forming the first course in each knitting section, the yarn carriers mot' shown) layyarn on the ribs of the sinkers and dividersk Theyarnis'; then sunk by the sinkers, divided thediviclezfs and the loops thenengaged by 'thebeaid's of the needles preparatory to drawing them down off the nibs'of the sinkers and dividers onto the knockover-bits. Prior to the point in thecycle at which theloops move down offsaid nib-s, cam follower 62 which has been shiftedbyjan'impulse from t e P t er me -i mo hs ane 9 a .5 n-

ia es ca '64 so th t igs 1' are s e ed Pdrssitse nee le er .1: w h it Wel 10 bar 4! to a point at which the welt hooks 43 in the wel-t barsproject between the needles and between the sinkersand dividers and the iknock-' over bits. "The forward movement ofqthepins 5| and bar Mfunwinds straps 3Z9 andwinds up cable 45 to lift weight 46. Then'eedl'esth'en draw the loops of the first course down onto hooks. instead of onto the knockover-bits and the pins 5! are retracted torest position leaving the loops engaged by the hooks 43 and tensionedlby the weight 45 transmitted to the'hooks bythe straps 39. Preferably; alternate loops or the first course arethen cast off before proceedingwith theknittihgofthewelt. I After 'a'po-rtion of the welt has been knitted under theinfluence ofdraw ofi? means 35 of which weight 15 is a part, cam follower. '62 is moved into the plane of cam 'which is not as high as cam 64. Pins 51' are thereby moved to contact and move the bars 4| toward the needles to a position intermediate the needles and the rest position of the pins '51. The movement of. the bars. to said intermediate position is utilized to release the hooks 15' on the draw-off straps 740f the" main draw-off means 36frompositions near the needle rows to which they were previously moved and in which they had been latched. The welt bars 4| are 'latched' in said intermediate positionfor completion of the welt'while each pair .of said hooks 15, as soon as released, are i'drawn forward into eng'agement'with a welt wire. 16 which had been placed onthe fabric and held inthe pathof thehooks." i i Welt wire "it is guided in a horizontal path below the bar 4| so that itmakesafold in; the fabric, the loopsof thefirst course being drawn forward against elements 8.0 fixed OI'IthG' shanks of the welt hooks .43; Both draw-ofi shafts are exerting tension on their straps at this'timebut, due to the fact that bar 4| i's'heldfby the" pins-51, weight 45 hasno effect on the fabric because, the weight is attached directly tobar 4| which cannot'then move, so that there'is no undue tension ontheloops.

After the desired length of welt fabric has been knitted, pins 51 are againrnov'ed towardthe neeeie rowto cause the hooks 43 toproje'ct' be tween the needles as at the time of hooking up but, this time, for the purpose of closingor turningthe welt. In closing the welt, the'h'obks 4I are held between the needles fora 1mg enough period so that the needles come up through the loops of the first'course. After the needles 'haye reengaged'the loops of the first course; .the pusher pins 5! are withdrawn .to their rest p0- sition leaving thelbar' M'resting on the fabric with hooks 43 engaged'in the loops. The combined tension of both draw-off means is, however, now acting on the loops, as shown in Fig. 6, and to avoiddamage to the fabric the'tension of weight 46 0f the auirilia'ryTdraw-off means is now substantially taken off the loops before another course hasbeen knitted. For .thispurpose,

shaft 31 of the auxiliary drawroff means 35 is ro- "tated in the reverseidirection tending to unwind strap or straps 39 by engagement of the dog 86 in notch 84 in disk'83 as the dog is operated by the cam 8! through the lever 92 and link 9|] from 45. As knitting 'continues'afterl shaft-37' has heen latohed, "bar "41 is carried" along with the fabric and as soon as sufficient fabric has been knitted after the welt has been closed to develop suflicient slack in the straps 39, the hook 40 on each strap 39 gradually relaxes its engagement with the loop 42 on bar 4| as shown in Fig. 15 until completely disengaged, as shown in Figs. 11 and. 16 and as hereinbefore set forth. The Straps 38 and hooks 40 having dropped to the position shown in Fig. 11, the welt hooks 43 of bar 4| may be disengaged from the fabric by the operatives when desired. Also, the shaft 31 may be unlatched and the shaft 31 allowed to rotate in the take-up direction to the position shown in Fig. 13 in which the weight 46 is again held by the latch I02, while bars 4| may be placed in starting position against the pusher pins and the straps 39 again attached to the bars 4| preparatory to starting another welt, all as soon as desired after hooks 40 have disengaged themselves from the loops 42.

Of course, the improvements specifically shown and described by which the above results are obtained, can be changed and modified in various wayswithout departing from the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In a full-fashioned knitting machine having a hooking up and welt-turning apparatus the combination of an auxiliary draw-off shaft having a strap provided with a hook, a welt bar having hooks engaging and applying tension to the loops of the first course during knitting of the welt, said bar engaged by the hook of said strap, a main draw-off shaft having straps connecting it to a welt wire in a fold of the fabric and applying tension to said wire while knitting fabric following the turning of the welt, and means reversing the movement of said auxiliary draw-off shaft'after said main draw-off shaft has begun to act on the fabric and holding the auxiliary draw-off shaft to release the tension of the first strap for the auxiliary draw-off shaft to permit said hook of the first strap to disconnect itself from the bar.

2. In a fullefashioned knitting machine, the I combination of an auxiliary fabric draw-off means'includlng a welt bar, a draw-off strap, means for applying at times a draw-off tension to said strap, a hook on said strap for engaging the welt bar while the strap is under draw-off tension, means to release said tension for a desired time, and means for drawing off fabric during further knitting after the release of said tension and while the welt bar is being drawn along by the fabric, said hook being formed to disengage itself from the welt bar upon movement of the latter when the tension of its strap has been released.

3. The method of knitting a welt fabric on a full-fashioned knitting machine having a welt turning mechanism including a welt bar having hooks thereon for engaging the first course of a welt, an auxiliary draw-off shaft, a strap connected to said shaft and having connecting 1 main. draw-off means, releasing said connecting means from the welt bar, after release of tension thereon and while operating the machine to knit 12 a fabric, by the combined action of the fabric on the welt bar and on the strap for the connecting means, and releasing the welt books from the fabric by hand and placing the welt bar in a position for the formation of another welt.

4. An auxiliary draw-off means for a full-fashioned knitting machine comprising in combination a shaft driven during knitting of an initial portion of fabric, a welt bar having a rearward and forward movement and having hooks engaging the first course of said portion of the fabric, stop means for said bar at the forward end of its path, a strap connected to said shaft and having a hook connected to said bar and applying a draw-off tension thereto, said hook acting to release the bar automatically upon continued knitting after the completion of the welt, and means for driving said shaft in the direction to apply a draw-off tension to said strap including a weighted connection so that tension is applied to said bar when against said stop means,

5. In a full-fashioned knitting machine having an automatic hooking-up and welt-turning mechanism, an auxiliary draw-off means comprising in combination a shaft driven during knitting of an initial portionof fabric, a welt bar having hooks engaging the first course of said portion of the fabric during the period required to knit it, stop means for said bar, a strap connected to said shaft and having a hook connected to said bar and applying a draw-off tension thereto during said period, said hook adapted to disengage itself from the bar upon knitting when its strap is slack and means for driving said shaft in the direction to apply a draw-off tension to said strap including a weighted connection so that tension is applied to said bar when against said stop means. v

6. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of main and auxiliary draw-off means each including a shaft, said auxiliary means including a welt bar having hooks engaging the loops of the first course of an initial portion of the fabric and. a strap connected to said auxiliary shaft and having a hook engaging said bar and applying a draw-off tension thereto during the knitting of said initial portion, a welt turning means operating upon completion of said portion to return the loops on said hooks to the needles to form a two ply Welt, means operating to render inoperative said auxiliary draw-off means after completion of turning the welt and said main draw-off shaft operative to act when knitting additional fabric, and means relieving the tension on said strap by reversing the motion of said auxiliary shaft and holding the auxiliary shaft in the position to which it is turned by said reversing'movement to permit said hook to disengage itself as the welt bar rides on the fabric during continued knitting of .the fabric.

7. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the

combination of knitting needles, an auxiliary draw-off shaft having a reel fixed thereon, a welt bar having welt hooks thereon, a strap connected to said reel and having a hook connected to said bar at the start of knitting a fabric but adapted to disconnect itself therefrom upon continued knitting after the tension on said strap has been relaxed, means applying a draw-off torque to said shaft, pusher means acting to push said bar with said strap attached thereto and under tension into a position in which said hooks project between the needles when the welt is to "be.- closed, means turning said shaft an angular distance 13 in the direction against said torque additional to that caused by pushing said bar to the welt closing position, and releasable means latching the shaft at the completion ofsaid additional turning movement including a disk and a latch member normally bearing against said disk.

8. In a full-fashioned knitting machine having a means for pushing a welt bar into position for hooking up and closing: a welt, the combination of an auxiliary shaft, means releasably connecting said bar and shaft, latch means for said shaft comprising a notched disk and a latch member, said disk and latch member permitting angular movement of" said shaft in the direction the reverse of-' draw-off and holding. said shaftagainst turning inthe draw off" direction at the position, reached by an angularmovement in said reverse direction beyond that reached by the shaftwhen the welt bar is in the weltclosingposi-tion.

9.. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, in combination, a needle row; a welt bar havin welt hooks thereon for engaging the loops of the first course, pusher elements on said bar for moving the loops of the firstcourse toward the needle row when closing the welt, pusher means moving said bar toward the needle row when required, auxiliary draw-off means including a shaft connected to said bar during hooking-up, knitting and closing the welt, a pawl means acting to turn said shaft shortly after said closing in the direction the reverse of drawoff an angular distance additional to that which the shaft is turned by said pusher means when closing the welt, and releasable latch means engaging and holding. said shaft after the shaft has been turned by saidpawl means to cause the welt bar to become disconnected from the shaft.

10. In a full-fashioned knitting machine in combination, a welt bar, a main draw-off means, an auxiliary draw-off shaft, a strap connected to said shaft, a hook on said strap for connecting it to said bar, means for moving said bar in the non-draw-off direction to. the needle row in position for closing the welt while the bar is connected to said shaft and thereby turning the shaft to a corresponding position, and means for turning said shaft further in the non-draw-off direction, latching said shaft at the end of said further movement and knitting while tensioning the fabric by said main draw-off means and while said shaft remains latched to cause said hook to disconnect itself from said bar. 7

11. In a full-fashioned knitting,machine having a welt bar and an auxiliary draw-off means therefor, the combination of a pusher means adapted to move said bar toward the needle row and including pins acting to determine the position of the bar away from the needle row when the pusher means and bar are inactive, an auxiliary draw-oif strap forming part of said auxiliary means, an auxiliary draw-off shaft forming part of said auxiliary means and connected to said strap, and means tending to turn said shaft to wind said strap on the shaft, said strap having springs connected to intermediate points thereof, said springs being under tension when said welt bar is against said pins and the pusher means is inactive.

12. In a method of operating a full-fashioned knitting machine having auxiliary and main draw-off means, a welt bar, a draw-off shaft forming part of said auxiliary means and having a reel thereon, a strap connected to said reel and 141 havinga hook fixed: thereon connected to said bar prior to hooking up the first, course and a means for pushing said; bar toward the needle rowfrom a rest position to form a welt fabric and to disconnect the welt bar from the auxiliary draw-off means, the steps comprising moving the welt bar toward the needles so that its hookslextendbetween the needles while the auxiliary draw-oif'means. is connected to the welt bar by. said strap and its hook, hooking-up a first course and knitting a portion of a welt fabric while the welt bar moves in the, draw-off, direction, moving the welt bar toward the needle row but short ofeits hook-up position, placing a welt wire. onthefa-bric and'throwingthe main draw off tension, on the weltwire to makea fold in the fabric knitting the remainder of the welt while the. main draw-.ofh means is active. and main,-

taining the welt barstationary in said position,

knitting while the shaft ofc: the auxiliary draw-off means ,is stationary.

13. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a needle row, auxiliary and main draw-01f means, a welt bar, a strap forming part of said auxiliary draw-off means and having a hook thereon connecting the strap to said bar during the knitting of; the welt, pusher means acting to move said welt bar from a rest position to the needle row for hooking up the first course, guide means for holding a welt wire near the needle row, straps forming part of said main means and having hooks for connecting with said wire, means releasably latching said straps so that, said last hooks engage said wire when unlatched, means causing said pusher means to move the welt bar to a position: short of the needle row and the pusher means acting when so moved tounlatch said last straps, means causing said pushermeans to hold said welt bar in said position short of the needle row until the welt has been knitted, means causing said pusher means to move said bar to the needle row and to hold it there until loops of the f rst course have been teeneeeed b th ne d e s d pusher means thereupon moving away from the bar to said rest position, and means causing said auxiliary draw cit mea s to e e h t n n i t strap o cw ns h cl s n 0 h We t t p m s d first hook to disengage itself-from the welt bar.

14. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a needle row, auxiliary and main draw-off means, a welt bar, a shaft having a reel thereon forming part of said auxiliary drawoff means, a strap, connected to said reel and having a hook thereon connecting the strap to said bar prior to hooking up the first course, pusher means acting to move said welt bar from ar st msi isn t t e needle row to o u h first course, guide means for holding a welt wire in an initial position near the needle row, straps forming part of said main means and having hooks for connecting with said wire when held by said guide means, means causing said pusher means to move said bar to the needle row and to hold it there until loops of the first course have been reengaged by the needles to close the welt, said main draw-off means acting prior to the closing of the welt to tension its said straps and to cause its said hooks to engage the welt wire, and means causing said auxiliary draw-01f means to relieve the tension in its strap for a period of knitting following the closing of the welt, said last means including a notched disk on said shaft.

15. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a needle row, auxiliary draw-off means including a shaft and a reel thereon, a welt bar, a strap connected to said reel and hav-- ing a hook thereon connecting the strap to said bar during the knittingof the welt, means acting to move said welt bar to the needle row for hooking up loops of the first course, means acting to move the welt bar to the needle row and to hold it there until loops of the first course have been returned to the needles to close the welt, and means to relieve the tension in said strap following the closing of the welt to permit said hook to disengage itself from the welt bar, said last means including notched disks on said shaft.

16. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a needle row, auxiliary draw-off means including a shaft and a reel thereon having a rest position, a welt bar having hooks thereon, a strap connected to said reel and having a hook thereon connecting the strap to said bar during the knitting of the welt, means acting to move said welt bar'tothe needle row for hooking up loops of the first course, means acting to move said welt bar to the needle row and to hold it there until loops of the first course have been returned to the needles to close the welt, means to turn said shaft to relieve the tension in said strap following the closing of the welt and to hold the shaft in a position reached by said turn, said last means including a disk on said shaft having a notch therein and a racking pawl for engaging said notch, said disk occupying a position when the welt hooks are at the needle row and the draw-off tension on said strap in which its notch is adapted to be engaged by said pawl, means normally holding said pawl away from its disk, a second disk fixed to said shaft and having a notch therein, a latch pawl for said second permit said latching pawl to engage the wall of the notch in said second disk to holdthe said shaft stationary during continued knitting, and a second draw-01f means acting during knitting after said shaft has been latched.

17. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a needle row, auxiliary draw-off means including a shaft and a reel thereon, a welt bar having hooks thereon, a strap connected to said reel and having a hook thereon connecting the strap to said bar during the knitting of the welt, means acting to move said welt bar to the needle row for hooking up loops of the first course of a welt, means acting to move said welt bar to the needle row and to hold it there until loops of the first course have been returned to .the needles to close the welt, means to turn said shaft to relieve the tension in said strap follow- 16 ing the closing of the welt and to hold the shaft in a position reached by said turn, said last means including a disk, on said shaft having a notch therein and a racking pawl for engaging said notch, said disk occupying a position when the welt hooks are at the needle row and the drawoif tension on said strap in which its notch is adapted to be engaged by said pawl, means normally holding said pawl away from its disk, a second disk fixed to said shaft and having a notch therein, a latch pawl for said second disk, the notches in said disks spaced an angular distance not more than that by which the shaft is turned by one racking action of said racking pawl, and means actuating said racking pawl at desired times and moving the racking pawl into engagement with the wall of said first notch and also in the direction contrary to the draw-off to permit said latching pawl to engage the wall of the notch in said second disk to hold said shaft stationary during continued knitting, and

a second draw-01f means acting during knitting aftersaid shaft has been latched, said second disk having movement such that its notch stops short of the position of said latching pawl when the shaft is turned in the draw-off direction from its latched position to its rest position.

18. In a method of operating a multi-section full-fashioned knitting machine having a main draw-off means, an auxiliary draw-01f means including an auxiliary draw-off shaft used primarily during knitting of the welt, welt bars provided with hooks for engaging the fabrics, straps connected to said shaft and having hooks for connecting the straps with said bars, said main draw-01f means including a main draw-off shaft and straps for connecting said main drawoif shaft to welt wires in folds of the welt fabrics to form a welt fabric and to disconnect the welt bar from the auxiliary draw-01f means, the steps comprising closing the welts, discontinuing the draw-off action of said auxiliary shaft by turning the auxiliary shaft contrary to the draw-off direction to substantially relax the tension theretofore applied to the fabric by the auxiliary drawoff means, maintaining said auxiliary shaft near the angular position attained by it at the end of said turning while continuing to knit and to draw-off fabric by the main draw-off means until the hooks on the auxiliary straps have disconnected themselves from the welt bars, thereafter placing the welt bars in position for beginning a new set of blanks, reconnecting the hooks on the auxiliary straps with the welt bars, and maintaining enough tension on the auxiliary draw-off straps after their hooks have been reconnected to the welt bars to prevent the hooks from dropping off the welt bars.

HERBERT ERICH HAEI-INEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,995,643 Miller Mar. 26, 1935 2,295,512 Bitzer Sept. 8, 1942 2,413,601 Bitzer Dec. 31, 1946 2,431,160 Bitzer NOV.'18, 1947 

